Monday, January 13, 2014

*Spoiler Alert* Downton Abbey Season 4 Episode 2 Recaps

Credit: ITV, Carnival Films

In case you are in need of some therapy from last nights Downton episode here are several recaps that might help. This episode was a traumatic and sometimes it's nice to read other peoples take on what happened and vent in the comments.

Grab a tissue!

PopWrapped:

This week’s Downton Abbey finds me writing this recap with a most heavy heart. The show has never been one to push any kind of controversial button. Sure, it has killed off major characters (forever in mourning of Matthew and Sybil) in shocking ways but death is a part of life, no matter how unexpected. Nothing in the world could have prepared me for what went down on this week’s episode though. The show really blew my mind as I am still reeling from the events almost an hour later.

Rumours of a potential 'plot twist' had been circulating this week after ITV decided not to send out advance previews of 'Downton Abbey ' to the press. The only times this has happened before is when there has been a death on the show or a major storyline.

As fans debated whether or not yet another of our favourite characters would be killed off, so early on in the series, the warning ahead of Sunday night's episode advising view discretion only added to the atmosphere. If I'm honest, I thought there was some kind of accident or a major fight scene coming, I mean, this is 'Downton Abbey' after all, not some kind of horror movie. How bad could it be? Pretty bad, as it turns out…

But the “suffering” was hardly anywhere on par with what happened next. Did Mr. Green rape Anna while the opera singer in Dame Nellie Melba performed on stage? The majority of the actual incident was kept off-screen, but you can clearly assume something horrible and devastated from what we saw. This is extremely uncomfortable to write about, though it is also not surprising given the dark subject matter that is occasionally talked about on the series.

After a death-a-riffic third season, I had high (albeit ridiculous) hopes that "Downton Abbey" might err toward the side of fluffiness and light this time around. I know, I know; as a soap in period dress, the show thrives on domestic trauma and Big Moments. I guess I've just grown so attached to these characters (yes, even Thomas) that I wish they'd all get a little vacation from the non-stop sads. At first, it seemed that things might be looking up, too.

Joanne Froggatt deserves an Emmy for that performance. Rape is ugly and traumatizing and even though we all hated this scene it was very powerful. You felt it in your gut. It hurt. Fans are still feeling devastated & disturbed today. We love the characters on this show and when stuff like this happens it's hard to separate ourselves from it and remember they are fictional characters.

What do you think about what happened with Tom & Edna? Do you think she drugged his drink? I do. I think it was a date rape scenario. So sad.